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Risk, regulation and the right to know: exploring the impacts of access to information on the governance of environmental risk

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  • Andy Gouldson

    (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK)

Abstract

Within the context of broader debates on the potential of more open, inclusive and deliberative approaches to decision-making, this paper examines the influence that enhanced access to environmental information has had on the governance of industry in the UK. After considering the extent to which information on emissions from industrial sites is practicably accessible to stakeholders, it examines the strategies that the different actors have adopted as a response to the provision of enhanced access to environmental information. In so doing, it highlights the pros and cons of greater transparency and more open engagement from the perspective of regulators, industry, community and pressure groups. It then assesses the impacts of access to information, both on the governance networks through which the different actors interact in an attempt to influence the emissions of the chemicals sector and on the environmental outcomes associated with these networks. It concludes that the provision of access to information has been associated with the emergence of new forms of engagement between regulators, industry and stakeholder groups and that this has coincided with (but has not been the main cause of) dramatic improvements in the environmental performance of the associated firms. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Andy Gouldson, 2004. "Risk, regulation and the right to know: exploring the impacts of access to information on the governance of environmental risk," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(3), pages 136-149.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:12:y:2004:i:3:p:136-149
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.237
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Konar, Shameek & Cohen, Mark A., 1997. "Information As Regulation: The Effect of Community Right to Know Laws on Toxic Emissions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 109-124, January.
    2. A Irwin & P Simmons & G Walker, 1999. "Faulty Environments and Risk Reasoning: The Local Understanding of Industrial Hazards," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 31(7), pages 1311-1326, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Dobler & Kaouthar Lajili & Daniel Zéghal, 2014. "Environmental Performance, Environmental Risk and Risk Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Rory Sullivan & Andy Gouldson, 2007. "Pollutant release and transfer registers: examining the value of government‐led reporting on corporate environmental performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(5), pages 263-273, December.
    3. Rory Sullivan & Andy Gouldson, 2017. "The Governance of Corporate Responses to Climate Change: An International Comparison," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 413-425, May.
    4. Mei-Fang Fan, 2008. "Environmental citizenship and sustainable development: the case of waste facility siting in Taiwan," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(6), pages 381-389.
    5. Andy Gouldson & Rory Sullivan & Stavros Afionis, 2014. "Corporate social responsibility, sustainability and the governance of business," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 35, pages 564-576, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Andy Gouldson & Rory Sullivan, 2014. "Understanding the Governance of Corporations: An Examination of the Factors Shaping UK Supermarket Strategies on Climate Change," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(12), pages 2972-2990, December.
    7. Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), 2014. "Handbook of Sustainable Development," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15312.
    8. Ateeq ur Rehman Irshad & Nabeel Safdar & Zahid Irshad Younas & Wajiha Manzoor, 2023. "Impact of Corporate Governance on Firms’ Environmental Performance: Case Study of Environmental Sustainability-Based Business Scenarios," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-12, May.
    9. Maria Vittoria Franceschelli & Gabriele Santoro & Elisa Giacosa & Roberto Quaglia, 2019. "Assessing the determinants of performance in the recycling business: Evidence from the Italian context," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(5), pages 1086-1099, September.
    10. Ron Johnston & Brett Christophers & Naonori Kodate, 2010. "Reviews: Numbers Rule: The Vexing Mathematics of Democracy from Plato to the Present, Genres of the Credit Economy: Mediating Value in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Britain, Site Fights: Divisive," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(8), pages 2031-2036, August.
    11. Gouldson, Andy, 2008. "Understanding business decision making on the environment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 4618-4620, December.
    12. Aarti Gupta, 2010. "Transparency to What End? Governing by Disclosure through the Biosafety Clearing House," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 28(1), pages 128-144, February.
    13. Reinhard Steurer, 2013. "Disentangling governance: a synoptic view of regulation by government, business and civil society," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 46(4), pages 387-410, December.

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